Tuesday, July 22, 2008

OBVIOUSNESS BECOMES SACREDNESS

The approach of vajrayana Buddhism to sacredness is not so much a matter of things being big and enormous and beyond the measure of one's thought; rather it has to do with things being so true, so real, so direct. We know a fire burns. We know the earth carries us. We know that space accommodates us. All these are REAL facts, and so obvious. Obviousness becomes sacredness from the point of view of vajrayana. It is not that things are sacred because they are beyond our imagination, but because they are so obvious. The magic is simplicity. Winter gets cold, summer gets warm. Everything in every situation has a little magic. If we forget to eat, we get hungry. There is a causal aspect, which is the truth. So in this case, the sacredness is a matter of truth, of the obviousness of the whole thing.

From "The Levels of Mahamudra," in ILLUSION'S GAME: The Life and Teaching of Naropa. Page 133.

All material by Chogyam Trungpa is copyright Diana J. Mukpo and used by permission.

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Ocean of Dharma Quotes of the Week: teachings by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
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July 21, 2008

Of interest to readers: Yesterday, July 20, there was a ceremony to install 3,000 gold CDs of Chogyam Trungpa's teachings in the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya at Shambhala Mountain Center in Colorado. This was the Speech Empowerment of the Stupa, which also contains the body relics of Chogyam Trungpa. For photos and more information on this event, go to http://chronicleproject.com/speech_empowerment/speech_empowerment.html

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